Global Trends in Workplace Learning

The paradigm of human resource development has shifted to workplace learning and performance. Workplace can be an organization, an office, a kitchen, a shop, a farm, a website, even a home. Workplace learning is a dynamic process to solve workplace problems through learning. An identification of global trends of workplace learning can help us to better connect with workplace learning stakeholders. Using a comprehensive search of 43 contemporary journal, magazine and newspaper articles, this paper reviews and synthesizes global trends in workplace learning in terms of the following five aspects: people/who, approach/how, time/when, place/where and thing/what. Consequently, five main trends are identified as follows: (1) Types of participants and facilitators are diversifying; (2) Emerging approach focus is practice-based systemic learning; (3) The flexibility of learning time has been increasing; (4) Learning by working and learning through systematic instruction at the workplace have been highly appraised; and (5) Workplace learning culture as well as practitioner's active engagement and motivation to learn have become key elements.